The debate over the `` Redskins '' name in sports is n't just at the professional level .

Students at an Oklahoma City high school were refusing to go into Capitol Hill High School on Wednesday morning because their mascot no longer has the controversial name , according to CNN affiliate KOCO .

Dozens of students stood on the lawn outside the building rather than heading into class .

The city 's public school board voted Monday to change the name in response to Native American students ' feelings that the mascot name was offensive . The vote to change the mascot , which has been in place since the 1920s , was unanimous .

School administrators will immediately start phasing out the Redskins mascot and will create a committee of current and former students and community members to pick a new mascot before the end of the spring semester , spokeswoman Tierney Tinnin said in a statement , according to The Oklahoman .

In the NFL , Washington Redskins football team owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly defended his team 's use of the name and wrote in a March letter that the name `` captures the best of who we are and who we can be , by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents . ''

The support of a handful of Oklahoma City high school students is n't likely to help Snyder 's cause . President Barack Obama said last year that he might change the name if he were the team owner .

In June , the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found that six team trademarks were offensive and canceled them . The team appealed , and the patent office ruled that the Redskins could use the logos until the years-long appeals process was complete .

The National Congress of American Indians has spoken out against the use of `` Redskins '' and other Native American mascots .

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High school students protested over removal of mascot name

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The Capitol Hill High School mascot is no longer the Redskins

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An NFL team has been repeatedly criticized for keeping the name